When I was in high school, in the mid-80s, my girlfriend's dad bought a BMW 3 series and gave her his metallic brown '80 Cutlass Supreme. It was a fun and comfortable little car to cruise around in, and it never left her stranded. We broke up when I was a freshman at university (she was a year ahead of me), but we remained in loose contact over the years. The last time I saw her, around '92, she was still driving that car.
I almost bought a 79 Cutlass Supreme in 1989. Owner put a 455 and a TH400 in it. I wanted that car sooooo bad. I ended up owning an 82 Monte Carlo 3-4 years later. GM G-Body. One of GMs best platforms. I love the G-Body. I wish folks would stop putting 30 inch wheels on them tho. G-Bodies ride so fricken well. IYKYK...
My motor mount was busted in this same car. I remember being stuck in Garden State Parkway traffic being mad slamming on the gas to move an inch forward and feeling the metal on metal slam when motor fell back onto the frame. Good times
In June, 2024 I found a rust free ‘79 W 30 Hurst Olds with 43K miles owned by one family in Baton Rouge. Gold w/ Black on the Sides. The 5.7L was L34 Rocket Olds with 4BBL Rochester QJet/ The camel colored door panels are funky from the Sun. Buckets and center Console. I gave too much, but this unmolested coupe brings SO many comments when fueling up. The notch back roof is classic early GM in the 1980’s Grand Prix with leather buckets. Thanks for doing this podcast!!
Cool Review!! I had a 79 Cutlass like it. Black/black. Black Cutlass ralley wheels. Buckets with center console. 2nd motor with true dual exhaust out the back, no cat. I do miss it.
Final thoughts was cool to watch seeing Zack get his lean on while cruzing. That's what this era of car was good for. Affordable luxury for the working class
Aside from 1 year of the '82 Escort, the Cutlass was the best selling car in the US up until 1983. It's interesting how rare the 'best selling' cars become, I assume because they were bought to be driven and folks don't think to preserve them.
I thought the 307 came out in 1980....In 79, the Cutlass would have an Olds 260 V8....and like other Olds V8 you would have an oil fill spout at the front of the intake manifold. We had the four door aeroback version of the Cutlass with the 260...and it wasn't very fast....but it was reliable and economical for what it was.
Had a mint green ‘ 79 with buckets, column shift and 2bbl 260/auto. Total slug but made it to 170k miles and still ran like a sewing machine. 15 years of the rust belt rotted out the rear frame rails and sent it to the junkyard. But the 260 continued life in an ‘81 C/S as a replacement for that garbage Buick 3.8.
If this one came out with a 260 it's not a surprise if a 307 was swapped in later because 260 only had a two-barrel carburetor and sufficiently different in design that you can't mate a four-barrel intake to the 260. But even a 150 horsepower 307 would have been a ton of improvement
My first car in the early 1990's was a 1981 Olds Cutlass Supreme, almost identical to this one -same paint (minus the white trunk) and interior. Mine had a faux cloth top. You're right about the back seats... they were not comfy. The ride was what I'd often describe as "feeling like you're taking the comfy sofa for a drive" -combined with the feeling of being in a rolling metal wall that would absolutely shatter a fiberglass body in a collision. I really loved that car, and it died in a truly EPPIC fashion. I was really into LARPing (live action role playing -like D&D, but we'd go camping for a weekend, strap on armor and beat the shit out of each other... instead of rolling dice.) any ways... I drove my '81 Olds to an event in Rochester (some 90 miles away) and was barreling down the thruway -about half way there- when my hood started erupting greenish-yellow smoke with a maple syrup smell. At the time, I knew nothing of cars beyond the very basic maintenance. I had NO idea that my cylinder head gasket and radiator has signed a mutual suicide pact just before I had set out. So, when the breakdown came, I was miles from the nearest exit ramp AND wearing my leather scale armor and cloak. I'd like to think it looked a little bad ass... me walking away from what liked like a car fire while wearing armor and hefting a sword, but probably only in my head. Anyway, great video. You wouldn't be related to Jack Black, would you? ;-)
6:40 I call that grille style the "Dad 'Stache" and it was an Oldsmobile styling cue from the very late 60s all the way into the 90s (my 1997 Olds Achieva had the Stache). Whether it was conscious or not, Oldsmobile was so very much associated with middle age/fatherdom/being-a-dude-with-kids-now-and-money-enough-not-to-settle-for-a-Chevy that Oldsmobile was desperate to kick the image enough to roll out a "This is not your Father's Oldsmobile" ad campaign in about 1990. It didn't work because they kept the Dad Stache grilles.
My Grandmother still has a Cutlass Supreme, but its a 1985 (or 1986, I can't remember). She is the 1st owner too, just never wanted to get rid of it I guess. Does run and drive, but it usually just sits in the garage as she has a newer vehicle. Nice cars though.
When I was 16 back in 1990 my first car was a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme. It was Maroon and I paid $750 for it. I got so many speeding tickets and got my license revoked 😂😮
You're totally right about the lack of cup holders! I *tried* using a molded plastic cup carrier that sat over the hump on the floor like a saddle, but *that* failed the "Fast Turn Challenge". I also had varying success with the type of holders that could hold a pop can and was seated in the window crack on the door, but this was only good IF you kept the window fully rolled down. =(
I use to have 81 Olds Omega with this exact styling. It was blue with Iron Duke engine and it replaced Chevy citation. Both of them were very comfortable cars but Omega was much more dependable. Rust killed her
The Illinois plates on this car reminds me of the "Chicago Cutlass," a Cutlass of this gen that's been described as a rolling landmark of Chicago. Total rotbox, but still running and driving just fine.
Channels like this are what I'd like to have watched back in the 90s, when the only option was TV x3 I always find it interesting to hear about the history of these cars unknown to us europeans, I only saw these boxy american cars in movies
Seeing this car reminds my of my 1981 Cutlass where you had to hold onto the drivers door strap handle when making left turns or you would slide right across vinyl seat towards the passenger side...
I had a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme 2 door when I got out of highschool in 1993. I was shocked that the car had a 4.3 v8 ( yea- 4.3 v8 which got retooled into a 4.3 v6 years later..) My point is : the 4.3 v8 had the tinyist pistons I ever seen. Talk about low compression and winded. Geez, This car would get winded if it seen itself driving up a hill from a block away. So winded this engine was made me think walking would get me there faster.
The 260ci had a 3.5 inch bore; not that small by modern standards, but I'm sure they looked absolutely comically tiny compared to that massive Oldsmobile block that in some engines had a bore up to 4.35 inches. Downsizing in the 70s was weird...
The 360* intake air cleaner will help power a little bit. And I also see that the EGR was blocked off....good!!!!! BUT.....if you gave me the choice of this 1979 Cutlass or my first Olds, a 1957 Super 88 371 4 barrel with dual exhausts, I'd gladly take the 1957!
My dad had a 90s Cutlass Ciera and always used to bemoan what had become of the once-illustrious Cutlass name. This definitely looks a lot more interesting than the Ciera!
I'm assuming it was swapped in if it had a 307 in it more than likely would have come from the factory with 350. Because the 307 wasn't a thing for Oldsmobile until 1981. I took and flipped it the other way around 83 Cutlass Supreme with 73 455 rocket under the hood, the first year of the malaise era but still 120 horsepower more than that car would have had it most from the factory in 1983 with a full 270 horsepower on tap.
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was the best-selling car in the US for many years until the Ford Taurus claimed the title. They were big, comfortable, and Oldsmobile was supposed to be nicer than Chevy so people who didn't want to be seen in a lowly Chevy bought these.
I had a black one that was a one owner and in beautiful original shape. Like an idiot I sold it to a kid who ruined it by putting extra badges on it and a crappy sounding exhaust and little to drag car style suspension. I’m working on getting another and I’m not selling it ever. Lesson learned
my dad got his driver's License in the Coupe version of a 1974 Supreme those neutered V8s lasted until the mid 1980s my mom got her license during the 2nd oil crisis in March 1979 in a Rocket 350 V8 equipped 1978 Olds Delta 88 yeah the horsepower was weak even in a 3,800 pound car like that gen of the Delta 88 was 120 HP which is sad when you consider a modern day 4 Cylinder Toyota Camry has 208 HP while a V6 Camry has 301 HP and the Supercharged V8 in the base Corvette/Camaro has 495 horsepower
God so help me, I was so hoping you'd intentionally fudge the line about the bear: "when you poke the bear, you get the horns." I know a few guys that do that. Unintentionally and they're all into cars. Brake cleaner, don't get your head right near it.
Wow !!! I....I....I don't know what to start with. Such a "rough around the edges" example. Cutlasses and other G body's get made into Donks. Are you sure you couldn't have tested a better car - Even IF it's been Donkified ??? The Olds 307 V8 wasn't the best choice either. A nice small block Chevy 350 V8 is a much better choice !! If they replace the engine (why not? It's over 40 yrs old) the usual choice is a SB 350 for really good reasons too. The biggest joke in this review is featuring the cars "appearance". Which is something that you'd think he would ignore or at least downplay for the owners sake. The rims are those old fashioned rally wheels from a Corvette (about the best thing in THIS category by a long shot) The paint (where they bothered to paint it) was slopped on, OVER 25 years ago. then they stopped and left the rest to flake and fade away. BUT for whatever reason, painted the trunk gray. Before you get in check with your physician first to make sure you're up to date on tetanus shots. And grab a long sleeve coat (just to be sure). AND THAT STEERING WHEEL - YUCK !! The owner must have found it on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace for $5. Got the radio from the same guy for $7. The owner must have ran out of money by then 'cause didn't even bother to clean the seats or even toss a big blanket over them as a cheap seat cover. Do us a favor....if that's the kind of car these people got for you to test, DON'T BOTHER !! Go to a used car lot, test drive and record those cars first.
When I was in high school, in the mid-80s, my girlfriend's dad bought a BMW 3 series and gave her his metallic brown '80 Cutlass Supreme. It was a fun and comfortable little car to cruise around in, and it never left her stranded. We broke up when I was a freshman at university (she was a year ahead of me), but we remained in loose contact over the years. The last time I saw her, around '92, she was still driving that car.
Damn, what happened between you and you girl.
@@derkommissar4986 We drifted apart. My wife is actially facebook friends with her.
@@genericsomethingcringe.
This car is not little.
You gotta stay in touch with her! There's no harm. Or else one day, the both of you will regret not doing so.
00:10 i like how the paperwork is placed in the ceiling with magnets 🏆🔥
❤ From Bangladesh 🇧🇩
I almost bought a 79 Cutlass Supreme in 1989. Owner put a 455 and a TH400 in it. I wanted that car sooooo bad. I ended up owning an 82 Monte Carlo 3-4 years later. GM G-Body. One of GMs best platforms. I love the G-Body. I wish folks would stop putting 30 inch wheels on them tho. G-Bodies ride so fricken well. IYKYK...
Fr shit looks goofy
My motor mount was busted in this same car. I remember being stuck in Garden State Parkway traffic being mad slamming on the gas to move an inch forward and feeling the metal on metal slam when motor fell back onto the frame. Good times
I had an 81 cutlass with a 350 and the driver's side motor mount was broken. It did the same thing.
In June, 2024 I found a rust free
‘79 W 30 Hurst Olds with 43K miles owned by one family in Baton Rouge. Gold w/ Black on the Sides. The 5.7L was L34 Rocket Olds with 4BBL Rochester QJet/ The camel colored door panels are funky from the Sun. Buckets and center
Console. I gave too much, but this unmolested coupe brings SO
many comments when fueling up. The notch back roof is classic early GM in the 1980’s
Grand Prix with leather buckets.
Thanks for doing this podcast!!
2:38 "Dammit Myrtil, I can't figure out how to make this steering wheel square, ruins the whole car"
Cool Review!! I had a 79 Cutlass like it. Black/black. Black Cutlass ralley wheels. Buckets with center console. 2nd motor with true dual exhaust out the back, no cat. I do miss it.
Final thoughts was cool to watch seeing Zack get his lean on while cruzing. That's what this era of car was good for. Affordable luxury for the working class
Aside from 1 year of the '82 Escort, the Cutlass was the best selling car in the US up until 1983.
It's interesting how rare the 'best selling' cars become, I assume because they were bought to be driven and folks don't think to preserve them.
Actually it was appreciated so they were turned into low riders and hot rods haha.
@@Andyface79 Good point, too bad you can't do the same with an old Camry 🤣
The frames rotted out in the back causing the rear bumpers to fall off. Many of them went to the crusher early.
I thought the 307 came out in 1980....In 79, the Cutlass would have an Olds 260 V8....and like other Olds V8 you would have an oil fill spout at the front of the intake manifold. We had the four door aeroback version of the Cutlass with the 260...and it wasn't very fast....but it was reliable and economical for what it was.
Yes. It is either a 260 V8 or a replacement engine. The 307 did not come out until 1980.
Previous guy shoved a 307 in her. Lol
Had a mint green ‘ 79 with buckets, column shift and 2bbl 260/auto. Total slug but made it to 170k miles and still ran like a sewing machine. 15 years of the rust belt rotted out the rear frame rails and sent it to the junkyard. But the 260 continued life in an ‘81 C/S as a replacement for that garbage Buick 3.8.
Some people would remove the oil fill spout and plug it's hole and fill the oil through the PCV hole in the valve cover.
If this one came out with a 260 it's not a surprise if a 307 was swapped in later because 260 only had a two-barrel carburetor and sufficiently different in design that you can't mate a four-barrel intake to the 260. But even a 150 horsepower 307 would have been a ton of improvement
My first car in the early 1990's was a 1981 Olds Cutlass Supreme, almost identical to this one -same paint (minus the white trunk) and interior. Mine had a faux cloth top. You're right about the back seats... they were not comfy. The ride was what I'd often describe as "feeling like you're taking the comfy sofa for a drive" -combined with the feeling of being in a rolling metal wall that would absolutely shatter a fiberglass body in a collision. I really loved that car, and it died in a truly EPPIC fashion.
I was really into LARPing (live action role playing -like D&D, but we'd go camping for a weekend, strap on armor and beat the shit out of each other... instead of rolling dice.) any ways... I drove my '81 Olds to an event in Rochester (some 90 miles away) and was barreling down the thruway -about half way there- when my hood started erupting greenish-yellow smoke with a maple syrup smell. At the time, I knew nothing of cars beyond the very basic maintenance. I had NO idea that my cylinder head gasket and radiator has signed a mutual suicide pact just before I had set out.
So, when the breakdown came, I was miles from the nearest exit ramp AND wearing my leather scale armor and cloak. I'd like to think it looked a little bad ass... me walking away from what liked like a car fire while wearing armor and hefting a sword, but probably only in my head.
Anyway, great video. You wouldn't be related to Jack Black, would you? ;-)
6:40 I call that grille style the "Dad 'Stache" and it was an Oldsmobile styling cue from the very late 60s all the way into the 90s (my 1997 Olds Achieva had the Stache). Whether it was conscious or not, Oldsmobile was so very much associated with middle age/fatherdom/being-a-dude-with-kids-now-and-money-enough-not-to-settle-for-a-Chevy that Oldsmobile was desperate to kick the image enough to roll out a "This is not your Father's Oldsmobile" ad campaign in about 1990. It didn't work because they kept the Dad Stache grilles.
10:29 😂 Zack, this is one of your best reviews! Funny, informative, accurate to the point of me laughing 😂 I loved it!!!
My Grandmother still has a Cutlass Supreme, but its a 1985 (or 1986, I can't remember). She is the 1st owner too, just never wanted to get rid of it I guess. Does run and drive, but it usually just sits in the garage as she has a newer vehicle. Nice cars though.
When I was 16 back in 1990 my first car was a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme. It was Maroon and I paid $750 for it. I got so many speeding tickets and got my license revoked 😂😮
Can't wait for the sequel in which you finally track down and review The Chicago Cutlass!!!
You're totally right about the lack of cup holders! I *tried* using a molded plastic cup carrier that sat over the hump on the floor like a saddle, but *that* failed the "Fast Turn Challenge". I also had varying success with the type of holders that could hold a pop can and was seated in the window crack on the door, but this was only good IF you kept the window fully rolled down. =(
Wurst Olds. That's hilarious. For all you youngins' there was actually a Hurst Olds.
I use to have 81 Olds Omega with this exact styling. It was blue with Iron Duke engine and it replaced Chevy citation. Both of them were very comfortable cars but Omega was much more dependable. Rust killed her
The Illinois plates on this car reminds me of the "Chicago Cutlass," a Cutlass of this gen that's been described as a rolling landmark of Chicago. Total rotbox, but still running and driving just fine.
When I was a kid, my dad had a '72 Cutlass with the 455, and boy was it a sweet ride.
Channels like this are what I'd like to have watched back in the 90s, when the only option was TV x3
I always find it interesting to hear about the history of these cars unknown to us europeans, I only saw these boxy american cars in movies
My grandmother had a 1981 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Looked great, drove like an inebriated horse.
Seeing this car reminds my of my 1981 Cutlass where you had to hold onto the drivers door strap handle when making left turns or you would slide right across vinyl seat towards the passenger side...
My drivers ed was in a 1978 Monte Carlo,
I had a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme 2 door when I got out of highschool in 1993. I was shocked that the car had a 4.3 v8 ( yea- 4.3 v8 which got retooled into a 4.3 v6 years later..) My point is : the 4.3 v8 had the tinyist pistons I ever seen. Talk about low compression and winded. Geez, This car would get winded if it seen itself driving up a hill from a block away. So winded this engine was made me think walking would get me there faster.
The 260ci had a 3.5 inch bore; not that small by modern standards, but I'm sure they looked absolutely comically tiny compared to that massive Oldsmobile block that in some engines had a bore up to 4.35 inches. Downsizing in the 70s was weird...
The 360* intake air cleaner will help power a little bit. And I also see that the EGR was blocked off....good!!!!! BUT.....if you gave me the choice of this 1979 Cutlass or my first Olds, a 1957 Super 88 371 4 barrel with dual exhausts, I'd gladly take the 1957!
My dad had a 90s Cutlass Ciera and always used to bemoan what had become of the once-illustrious Cutlass name. This definitely looks a lot more interesting than the Ciera!
This was my first car. Never driven anything better.
That's exactly how I drove it, too...
Thanks for another great video Zach! Here's on for the algorythm! :^)
I love those cars, I've had a few of them over the years!
I noticed the slits in the bumper for the bumper jack that was provided back in the day....
Dad had a red 1978 that he used for back and forth to work. He dumped it early in my parents' marriage. I don't remember it too much.
I kind of like these better than the later 80s ones
Gotta love the fact it says WURST/OLDS on the back. (wurst means sausage in german) old wurst, old sausage...
Pops came up with it 😂
That generation for some reason never rusted .The same dash from78 would carry on to the stretched models of the 80s til 87
They didn't rust because most companies mid 70s tried very hard to prevent rust.
Ahhh, the ole G body where door fell 3 inches down when opened because of bad door pins. Broke 3 striker plates in the 2 years I owned mine
I'm assuming it was swapped in if it had a 307 in it more than likely would have come from the factory with 350. Because the 307 wasn't a thing for Oldsmobile until 1981. I took and flipped it the other way around 83 Cutlass Supreme with 73 455 rocket under the hood, the first year of the malaise era but still 120 horsepower more than that car would have had it most from the factory in 1983 with a full 270 horsepower on tap.
Might be picking one up tomorrow 😎
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was the best-selling car in the US for many years until the Ford Taurus claimed the title. They were big, comfortable, and Oldsmobile was supposed to be nicer than Chevy so people who didn't want to be seen in a lowly Chevy bought these.
Exellent I have three.
Remember that music video where Ciara busted it down on the red cutlass? Dare I say, iconic.
its a 307 not a racer but will last . heavy duty engines
i love oldsmobiles i believe the omega had a solid grille
I love this era of cars. Also looks like it would be on trailer park boys lol
Aw man, we had a 79. Chartreuse with green interior, 305
Bro I really really like 👍🏼 it big g body fan I’m work on mine now its a 1987
I had a black one that was a one owner and in beautiful original shape. Like an idiot I sold it to a kid who ruined it by putting extra badges on it and a crappy sounding exhaust and little to drag car style suspension. I’m working on getting another and I’m not selling it ever. Lesson learned
Wurst/Olds, excellent!
Back when cars had beautiful color interiors.Velour seats.Now cheap cloth gray blaw blaw blaw.
my favorite car
...I suddenly don't feel bad giving my beater for you to review...
That interior looks like middle aged alcoholic depression.
Just curious, is the intro a song or a track ?
my dad got his driver's License in the Coupe version of a 1974 Supreme those neutered V8s lasted until the mid 1980s my mom got her license during the 2nd oil crisis in March 1979 in a Rocket 350 V8 equipped 1978 Olds Delta 88 yeah the horsepower was weak even in a 3,800 pound car like that gen of the Delta 88 was 120 HP which is sad when you consider a modern day 4 Cylinder Toyota Camry has 208 HP while a V6 Camry has 301 HP and the Supercharged V8 in the base Corvette/Camaro has 495 horsepower
The C8 Vette is NA.
God so help me, I was so hoping you'd intentionally fudge the line about the bear: "when you poke the bear, you get the horns." I know a few guys that do that. Unintentionally and they're all into cars. Brake cleaner, don't get your head right near it.
I love it .its sweet.awesome sick in a good way.car
Thanks!
The gaugaes look like theyre feom the 60s, being horizontal. Weird
It's a nicer version of the Chicago Cutlass!
Cool😀
Otter in an oil spill?😂😂😂
Kind of feels like GM; spend a lot on a grill, keep a beam suspension.
Hope they didn't mug you goin to drive that car. $899 for that.
Walking on a cloud? Haha
A little too dramatic, but ok
Wow !!! I....I....I don't know what to start with. Such a "rough around the edges" example.
Cutlasses and other G body's get made into Donks. Are you sure you couldn't have tested a better car - Even IF it's been Donkified ???
The Olds 307 V8 wasn't the best choice either. A nice small block Chevy 350 V8 is a much better choice !! If they replace the engine (why not? It's over 40 yrs old) the usual choice is a SB 350 for really good reasons too.
The biggest joke in this review is featuring the cars "appearance". Which is something that you'd think he would ignore or at least downplay for the owners sake. The rims are those old fashioned rally wheels from a Corvette (about the best thing in THIS category by a long shot) The paint (where they bothered to paint it) was slopped on, OVER 25 years ago. then they stopped and left the rest to flake and fade away. BUT for whatever reason, painted the trunk gray. Before you get in check with your physician first to make sure you're up to date on tetanus shots. And grab a long sleeve coat (just to be sure). AND THAT STEERING WHEEL - YUCK !! The owner must have found it on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace for $5. Got the radio from the same guy for $7. The owner must have ran out of money by then 'cause didn't even bother to clean the seats or even toss a big blanket over them as a cheap seat cover.
Do us a favor....if that's the kind of car these people got for you to test, DON'T BOTHER !!
Go to a used car lot, test drive and record those cars first.
For 1979 it should be a Chevy 305.
A 307 olds motor got put in previously before we bought it
Junker😄
It's amazing that these were among the most popular cars in the country at that time. They are not cool at all.